Recently, some vehicles have been equipped with an eco-drive assist apparatus for assisting the drive in eco-drive in view of environmental protection. For example, the eco-drive assist apparatus determines whether the vehicle is traveling efficiently in fuel economy by checking various factors, which may include the degree of depressing the accelerator pedal, the efficiency of the engine and transmission, the traveling speed and the accelerated velocity. When the vehicle is traveling efficiently in fuel economy, the vehicle is in an eco-drive state. When it is determined that the vehicle is in the eco-drive state, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) may be turned ON. The fuel economy may be calculated at an instantaneous time in traveling and may be indicated as an instantaneous fuel efficiency.
Generating and displaying information for assisting eco-drive is performed by a meter ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that calculates display information displayed on an instrument panel in a vehicle. The meter ECU obtains information such as the degree of depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle speed, the shift position, and the switch to change the control mode of the vehicle, generates information for determining whether the vehicle is in the eco-drive state, and switches the display for eco-drive.
The art disclosed in Patent Reference 1 uses a CPU to control a vehicle engine and the like, and a microcomputer including sub-processor capable of being controlled by programs independently from the CPU, and concurrently processes a transmission control program for a certain communication method stored in a memory with a sub-program.
Patent Reference 2 discloses a system where an engine ECU, an ABS_ECU, and a meter ECU are coupled to each other on the CAN communication line, and a management table of the engine ECU manages a sharable area of a memory in other ECUs.
In Patent Reference 3, an engine control unit of a vehicle is coupled to a microcomputer including a keyboard switch and a display device by a communication interface, and a driver is able to correct a fuel injection control.
Patent References 4 through 6 disclose techniques that record detected values of driver's driving operation such as the accelerator opening, a vehicle speed, and a fuel consumption, and display a result of comparison to a standard value.
In Patent Reference 7, to encourage a driver to carry out the driving operation to improve the fuel efficiency effectively, whether driver's driving operation is suitable for improving the fuel efficiency or not is determined, and a lamp is turned ON when it is determined that the driving operation suitable for improving the fuel efficiency is carried out.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-112585
[Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-38388
[Patent Reference 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-214086
[Patent Reference 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-77665
[Patent Reference 5] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-171388
[Patent Reference 6] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-57484
[Patent Reference 7] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-220851